What is "novotext"

Novotext is a trade name for cotton textile- phenolic resin, essentially cotton-reinforced Bakelite. It was often used in car engines for gear wheels used to provide a direct drive to the camshaft as it is flexible and quiet-running. One of the first luxury cars to use this material for its camshaft drive gears was the Maybach Zeppelin of 1928. The material is known under various other names such as Turbax, Resitex, Celoron and Textolit. In bar form it is also known as Cartatextiel and Ferrozell and in sheet form as Harex, Tufnol and Micarta.